"Baihu Tower?"
Onboard the Black Dragon, Rowan furrowed his brows slightly.
Well, that's interesting. They hadn't caused him any trouble, yet now they were coming straight to him!
"Alert! They've targeted us with orbital cannons!"
Babata immediately noticed that three of the enemy fighters had locked their laser cannons onto them.
Rowan's expression hardened. He hadn't expected Baihu Tower to discover them. But then again, it made sense. As their mining range shrank, the chances of running into others inevitably increased.
To redeem the Life Fruits before anyone else, speed was everything. Rowan knew well that on the fifth day, one Life Fruit had already been redeemed by someone else. Today was only the fourth day, and they had already gathered enough resources to exchange for all three Life Fruits. There was no room for delay; they had to act before anyone else could.
"Babata, maximum speed!"
Rowan commanded. Within the World of the Realm Masters, there was no Dark Universe, which meant they couldn't rely on interdimensional shortcuts. This presented a serious vulnerability. If surrounded, only a ship with exceptional performance could hope to escape.
The Black Dragon's engines roared as its speed reached the limits. Compared to the pursuing ships, it was noticeably faster. This vessel clearly belonged to a noble, valued at 12 billion Black Dragon Credits. With Babata's precise modifications, its performance was drastically enhanced.
Babata's database contained countless upgrade schemes, so improving the Black Dragon was a trivial task for him.
With the quantum jump engines activated, the ship surged forward in a violent ripple of energy, appearing almost instantaneous in movement, like teleportation.
"Damn, how are they so fast!"
Behind them, one of the lead warships was piloted by Rowan's enemy, Qiu Yu. The sudden appearance of Rowan had thrown a wrench into the expected scenario. Although there was no personal grudge between them, everyone in this Realm Master World was technically an enemy. Any encounter inevitably became a fight over the valuable Realm Ore.
"Baihu Tower… I've got my eye on you…"
A surge of murderous intent flared within Rowan. They had brazenly tried to ambush him, interrupting his plans. He could not let it slide. Baihu Tower had been officially placed on his kill list. Coupled with their ruthless methods, Rowan had no reason to hold back.
As the Black Dragon soared, the gap between pursuers and them widened. Soon, Rowan's path passed through the territory of the Sanfushan faction, prompting the enemy fleet to give up the chase. Their seven ships were no match for the dozens or even hundreds of vessels in Sanfushan territory. A fight over a single ship and a few soldiers' worth of Realm Ore was simply not worth the cost.
Qiu Yu had no idea that Rowan already possessed enough Realm Ore to surpass half of their painstakingly collected resources. Despite Baihu Tower deploying 300,000 soldiers, their efficiency was nowhere near Rowan's team. With everyone wielding stellar-level Demon Cloud Vines, each main vine stretching thirty kilometers, they could clear entire underground areas in an instant.
This was exactly why Babata had encouraged Rowan to take advantage of others. The efficiency was terrifyingly high, unmatched by anyone.
Soon, the Black Dragon appeared near the castle. Holographic projections displayed the surrounding situation: only two or three scattered ships lingered outside the castle walls.
The major factions had already collected enough Realm Ore to exchange for treasures, and Rowan wasted no time. Gathering all their Realm Ore, he moved inside.
Rowan's appearance immediately drew the attention of every faction. Greed shone in their eyes, completely unmasked.
Just as Rowan approached the castle to exchange the Realm Ore, two obstacles appeared.
Two figures, armed with C2-grade laser rifles, blocked the entrance. Two North Dragon City members frowned and attempted to proceed, only to be stopped.
"To enter and exchange, you must give up half of your Realm Ore, or forget it!"
A tall man with a menacing scar, representing the Huangwu Corps, leveled his rifle at a female North Dragon City member.
"Why? We're from North Dragon City! Aren't you afraid of retaliation?" the woman demanded, though she stepped back slightly. The threat of a universe-class laser was too significant. Her companion also frowned, brandishing a combat blade to shield her.
"Don't overstep yourselves! Don't think the Huangwu Corps can dominate everything!"
"Hahaha! In the Black Dragon Empire, the Huangwu Corps is the royal guard. What are you? A mere weak faction? Do you even have immortals backing you?"
The guard's arrogant laughter struck a nerve. Behind the North Dragon City and other factions, there were no immortals at best, realm masters. Compared to the true might of the Black Dragon Empire, they were insignificant.
Other factions immediately relayed the situation to their headquarters. Unlike the original scenario where all factions agreed to avoid private battles near the castle, the Huangwu Corps now brazenly attempted to monopolize the exchange area. Rowan, of course, had no idea why. He only knew his presence had caused a butterfly effect, creating unpredictable consequences.
"How arrogant!"
Thunder God, gripping his combat blade, bristled with anger.
"What do we do? Our Demon Cloud Vines haven't reached the universe level yet, and they're blocking the entrance. We can't exchange the Realm Ore!"
Rohan's concern was evident, surprised at the unexpected complication. Rowan, however, remained calm. He asked Rohan, "Have you trained the Pulse Soul Mark attack yet?"
"I have!" Rohan answered without question, though he didn't understand why Rowan asked.
"Time waits for no one. Hesitation means losing the opportunity. In this chaotic era, heroes rise. Let's be heroes this once and eliminate these two pests!"
Rowan's eyes glowed crimson.
"Hahaha! Fortune favors the bold. Let's hit them hard!"
Thunder God's eyes crackled with electricity. His blade ready, Rowan quickly outlined the battle plan.
The strategy was simple. Rowan and Rohan would use mental attacks to disrupt the enemies. Meanwhile, Thunder God and Hong would strike immediately, swiftly eliminating them. Iron Nanhe and Proud Bone prepared backup, guarding against any unexpected counterattacks.
With the plan set, Rowan and Rohan struck first.
"Pulse Soul Mark!"
"Soul Blade Strike!"
Invisible to the naked eye, the mental attacks sped toward the enemies, striking their souls with tremendous force.
The two Huangwu Corps soldiers holding laser rifles felt a sudden dizziness. One screamed in agony before they could react. Thunder God and Hong, having anticipated this, struck from behind. One sword, one gun one's head pierced, the other decapitated.
The attack was swift, precise, and shocking. Witnesses froze, unable to comprehend the sudden carnage. Only when they saw Rowan's team standing beside the corpses, rifles in hand, did they realize what had happened.
"They… they killed Huangwu Corps members?" Two North Dragon City members stared in horror. Others around gasped in shock as well. Even a Sanfushan squad arriving on the scene was stunned.
The speed and decisiveness of the attack left no doubt they were ruthless, efficient killers.
"This is excellent! A universe-class laser rifle! Another treasure acquired!" Thunder God delightedly examined the weapon. Even if their Demon Cloud Vines hadn't reached universe level, this rifle could defeat universe-class opponents.
Rowan tossed the second rifle to Iron Nanhe, who caught it, exhilarated. These rifles could kill universe-class beings and required only 0.8 seconds from charge to firing.
"These two also carried 120,000 Realm Ore… obviously stolen from others," Hong noted, extracting the ores and counting them. They also confiscated 12.5 billion Black Dragon Credits from the two.
A massive haul. Just the two rifles alone were worth three billion Qianwu Credits.
"You…" Rowan's gaze swept over the frightened North Dragon City duo. Their ruthless efficiency intimidated everyone present.
Knowing that only one person could enter at a time to exchange Realm Ore, Rowan entered the castle alone, holding the collected ores. Inside, a vast platform stretched out before him, the scenery resembling a starry sky breathtakingly beautiful.
Lord Wu appeared in his illusionary form.
"Hahaha! Full Demon Cloud Vines! You're impressive!"
Lord Wu had set countless monitors throughout the Realm, especially around Realm Ore zones. Rowan's mining could not escape his notice.
"Lord Wu, I want to exchange three Life Fruits!" Rowan declared.
Lord Wu scanned him, instantly understanding Rowan's intent to upgrade the Demon Cloud Vines to universe-level. Yet he said nothing. The rules were his, and he respected the game's flow.
With a wave of his hand, three Life Fruits emerged from storage. Their potent life energy was palpable. Merely inhaling their aura refreshed Rowan, dissipating the fatigue from mental exertion.
"Such treasures!" Rowan's eyes shone with joy as he exited without looking back.
"Let's find a place to rest," he said. Hong and Thunder God flanked him, knowing the Life Fruits were secured.
Just as Rowan prepared for the next phase, a massive humanoid figure from Sanfushan approached. A huge arm, peculiar wings on its back.
"You squads are ruthless! I like it. I'm Reta, leader of a Sanfushan squad," the figure boomed, offering a handshake.
"A Liwanka?" Babata perched on Rowan's shoulder, surprised.
"What's that?" Rowan asked.
Babata explained, "The Liwanka are rare human-animal hybrids. Once matured, they can reach stellar-level power. Their bloodline ranks as medium-tier, but they are fierce warriors with exceptional close-combat instincts."
Rowan listened, but it didn't concern him much.